Mumbai, Agency
Congress senior spokesperson Sachin Sawant today attacked the BJP, saying the BJP’s Hindutva has now "become completely corporate".
"In their greed for money, they have insulted our gods, revered deities and national icons who contributed immensely to this country," said Sawant at a press conference at Tilak Bhavan.
"The station named Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus has now been renamed Kotak Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Siddhivinayak station has become ICICI Lombard Siddhivinayak, Mahalaxmi is HDFC Life Mahalaxmi, and Acharya Atre station has been branded as Nippon India MF Acharya Atre," he commented.
Sawant demanded that BJP leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar immediately explain their position on "this gross insult".
"Those who do politics in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj must answer — how can they allow the prefix ‘Kotak’ before the name of our revered king? The Congress Party and the self-respecting people of Maharashtra will never tolerate such desecration of our icons,” he warned.
Sawant further said that the BJP in the last 11 years has been deliberately diverting public attention from burning issues such as farmers’ distress, unemployment, inflation, and women’s safety by indulging in the politics of renaming and identity.
He added that they renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj, Faizabad as Ayodhya, Rajpath as Kartavya Path, and Racecourse Road as Lok Kalyan Marg — also their allergy to names like Nehru and Gandhi continues.
They removed Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s name from Nehru Science Centre and Sanjay Gandhi’s name from Sanjay Gandhi National Park Station.
"These names are part of our national and public heritage — and the BJP has shamelessly put them up for sale. They have turned our pride, faith, and history into a marketplace," he charged.
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